Pros and Cons of Bernie Sanders’ Single Payer Health Care (Healthcare for All)

We are at that point of the year where every presidential hopefuls and leading candidates will unravel their plans to make America better. At the moment, it looks like the health plan between the two leading democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sander is what is going to make the difference for who will become the party flag bearer. There has been much talk about how the candidates are going to fix economy, creates more job and support the average American family, there have even been talks about American soldiers in the War zone, what we haven’t seen much of yet, though, is how the leading presidential candidates plan to bring much-needed reform in the healthcare sector.

Bernie Sanders has taken the lead in this regard with his most popular health care program which is “Single Payer Health Care”. It’s a health care plan for each and every US citizen would be insured and no one would be left behind. He is the man that is going to fix the America’s healthcare system with his single-payer national health care program. Here is what Bernie has to say about his healthcare reform.

“Health care must be recognized as a right, not a privilege. Every man, woman and child in our country should be able to access the health care they need regardless of their income. The only long-term solution to America’s health care crisis is a single-payer national health care program” Source: Berniesanders.com

We will take a look at what the “Single-payer healthcare plan” for the each and every of average middle-class Americans.

What is Single-Payer National Healthcare Program?

A single payer insurance or single payer plan is a system or process where a specific place’s government covers or pays for all the health care expenses of individuals. There are pros and cons to this kind of system. Single-payer health care plan also known as “Medicare for all” is the type of health insurance where a single public agency organizes health care financing, however the actual delivery of care are still left largely in private hands. This type of healthcare plan will guarantee that all residents of U.S would receive cover for all important medical services which consist of long-term care, reproductive health care, mental health, vision, dental, preventive health care, prescription drug and medical supply costs.

How Does Single Payer Health Care Work?

This type of healthcare plan is mostly financed by the savings government would get from replacing today’s inefficient, profit-oriented system with a nonprofit, single streamlined public payer system. Another source of funding for single-payer health insurance is through the modest new taxes that are based on the ability to pay. Bernie Sanders plan to tax those that earn $250,000 and above more. Under this type of health plan; premiums would disappear and more than 90% of American households will be able to save money that would otherwise be channeled into insurance payments. Those that need medical attention would no longer face financial barriers to receiving healthcare such as co-pays and deductibles and they will be free to choose hospital and doctor. Moreover, single-payer health insurance would enable doctors to regain autonomy over patient care.

The most recent debate about healthcare coverage that is most suitable for American citizens have fueled the quest to understand the difference between different type of healthcare plan such as a single payer system and universal health care coverage.

Bernie Sanders on Universal Health Care

What’s the difference between Single Payer Health Care and Universal Health Care in general?

Universal care coverage and single payer system may be confused for one another because they are closely related concepts however they are two separate things.

Universal healthcare coverage refers to a system where every individual in the United States will receive health coverage. Under universal coverage, the over 46.6 million Americans who albeit have no health insurance will receive coverage.

Whereas, a single payer system is the type of healthcare plan where one party mostly the government, will be responsible for paying all healthcare claims. Currently, the type of health care system in place in United States is the one where separate private insurance companies are charged with paying for the healthcare claims of the rich few who were able to afford the insurance while federal and state government pay some special healthcare care claims through the programs known as Medicaid and Obamacare.

Usually, universal healthcare coverage and single payer health insurance system go together since in most cases, the federal government will be the one responsible for the administration and payment of health care system that provides coverage for millions of people. On the other hand, it’s possible to have a universal healthcare coverage in place without having a single-payer system. In theory, it is possible to have a single-payer system without universal healthcare coverage however the possibility of it is extremely unlikely since such a system will undoubtedly be managed by the federal government.

What Are the Pros and Cons of Bernie Sanders’ Proposed Single-Payer National HealthCare Plan?

We will now take a look at the pros and cons of having this plan in place come next year (i.e. if Bernie Sanders win presidential race)

Single Payer Health Care Pros

Single payer health care was introduced together with several pros. Here are some of those:

Guaranteed Health Care

Single payer guarantees high quality health care services regardless of who you are or what you are into. Everybody is treated equally so social and economic status is never a hindrance for you to receive this insurance. All the legal residents of United System will get coverage. Single payer health care system ensures that every person gets health care to the full extent which is required by their health.

Non-Complex Billing

Submission of complex billing statements that usually requires some office personnel or any staff is eliminated. Thus, physicians and doctors can freely practice medicine at any time.

Recognition

Physicians who give out great health care quality can be rewarded for such good doing in providing preventive care. In some countries, most doctors and physicians can receive bonuses after giving their patients a truly remarkable health care. These vary though depending on what country you are in.

Reduce Cost / Lower Cost

Because this is a non-profit organization, cost of providing health care is substantially reduced. No corporate executives are employed so there is no reason to aim for a higher profit since no bonuses or extreme salaries are to be given out to the staffs. There will be a significant reduction in the amount you pay as health insurance each year.

No-Limitations

No one will ever be denied on receiving these health care services because this is open to all citizens. Single payer health insurance covers everything regardless of individual differences and even though you have or pre-existing medical conditions or not.

No Insurance Premiums

Insurance premiums are eliminated. This means, it does not exist. Thus, taxpayers can have significant reduction in the taxes they are paying compared to those who acquires costly health insurance from private organizations.

Reduce Amount of Paperwork

There are lots of paperworks that doctors and nurses have to deal with under the current healthcare plan. Introduction of single payer health care plan would reduce it to a significant extent.

No More Private Health Insurance (Only One Buyer Required)

The cost of medications will be significantly reduced since now there will be only one buyer which is the government.

Arguments Against Single Payer Health Care (Cons)

As single payer health care system expands its benefits for many people, many critics still debated the effectiveness of this system and cited many cons. Here are some of those:

Increased Bureaucracy

Government bureaucracy is increased because this is needed to administer the program. This is basically just like Medicare but was expanded its coverage. Anything run by government usually takes a lot of time. A single payer system will see an increase in queue in hospital and time required before a patient can be able to receive care.

Physicians Became Government Employees/Government Controlled

The government will be the one paying your medical expenses. Thus, this looks like the physicians became government employees as they were receiving salaries from the government. This is not totally a con then, since some may also consider this as pros depending on how you view things. Single payer system will automatically turn all doctors, nurses, research universities and other health workers and medical equipment manufacturers into employees of the government.

Uses Socialized Medicine

The use of socialized medicine is considered as evil things since this is against what America stands for. This is because it can lead one’s nation to becoming a communist dictatorship nation.

Socialism

Many people do not understand the real meaning of socialism and they cannot even understand that single payer is associated with this.

Waiting Times

One common issue exhibited by this single payer health care system is in the waiting time one needs to get the fund processed by the government. Thus, you have the sole responsibility to evaluate public option vs single payer and single payer vs universal health care to find what is best for you.

Reduce Development

This system has a strong tendency to reduce creativity since there is no more financial incentive for people to carry out research and develop new medicines.

Increase Government Burden

Single payer healthcare system will automatically increase the size and burden of government since more personnel will be required to administer the financial activities that are involved in this system.

Bernie Sanders proposal is still a long shot, the senator brought up this proposal two years ago. He knows that currently he has no co-sponsor however he is determined to garner support that will see the bill passed into law if elected even that is still a long shot as many insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and other powerful lobby group are posed to stop it as implementation of this system will automatically closed down their businesses. The single payer plan system can either be good or bad and this solely depends on how you view things on your own perspective.

38 Responses

Paul Denny

I disagree with the “con” argument about more bureacracy. By going to a national health inaurance – we can eliminate the “socialist” VA health care system, as veterans will all be covered accordingly; 50 massive state bureacracies and thousands of county bureacracies would no longer be needed to support medicaid – it could be scrapped as all US citizens would be covered. I believe “elimination of excess bureacracy” is actually a pro-single payer argument.

James

The argument that socialized medicine will lead to communism is ignorant and laughable, really? If that’s true, I’ve waiting for Canada’s communist revolution for the last fifty years…. hmmmm.. nothing so far? I’m still waiting

Greg

Roberta’s comment about Canada’s healthcare system is simply not true. I have spoken with several Canadians over my adult years and have NEVER HEARD A NEGATIVE COMMENT ABOUT THEIR HEALTHCARE! Our Government has shaped us to believe that these other systems are garbage and people will die waiting for healthcare, etc…simply not true, do some real unbiased research and find out the facts. Our healthcare system is one of the best, if not the best as far as actual care, procedures, techniques, etc…if you can afford it. Our system is not about what’s best for our citizens, its about making more money. The human factor does not exist in this country, the dollar does.

Shawn

Hello, Greg. Could you please help me and give me your unbiased research and facts? I would appreciate your help in seeing these. A website or brochure that you have acquired might help me gain knowledge.
Thanks in advance.

randall borra

the argument that single payer leads to communism is the same nonsense that was put forward when Medicare was introduced. Corporate spokesman Reagan made a ridiculous recording describing the U.S. becoming like Communist China if it passed.

Michael Hotovy

One serious drawback never mentioned: No legal recourse. If single payer delays, denies or screws up your care (i.e. government actuarial charts show you’re too old for a hip replacement to be cost efficient/economy is in a depression so tax dollars are scare and we have to trim services to stay on budget/you disagree with government standards for diagnosis/doctors screw up your care, etc.), you can’t sue the government or pursue other care via different insurance company or out-of-pocket care. Government can have completely different priorities (cost cutting) than the patient does (getting better). Without choice or recourse, what are we to do?

Sara

In the UK we have a single payer system and you can sue the government if the doctors screw up your medical care. They have stringent and extremely fair rules that set out what constitutes malpractice in order to prevent frivolous claims, but genuine cases are treated very seriously.

The constant litigation in the Us medical system is also one of the main reasons why healthcare there is comparatively so expensive. Crazy lawsuits result in crazy premiums for doctors as well as unnecessary treatments by doctors who make their medical decisions based on covering their butts than the best interests of the patient. This ultimately makes healthcare less affordable for people who genuinely need help – which is why doctors, nurses and hospitals should exist in the first place.

In UK if your child swallows a small coin; the doctor maybe does one x-ray to make sure it has passed the windpipe safely and then you wait for it to come out the other end. In the US, that same child might get another abdominal x-ray a few days later when panicked Mother takes him back to the ER because the coin has not passed yet.

Medically speaking, the extra dose of radiation from a chest x-ray to a small child is probably a bigger a risk to the child’s health than the actual coin which will almost certainly pop out when it’s ready, so it is best for the child if the worried Mother is sent home to let nature to take it’s course. With the threat of litigation though, the doctor needs to cover his butt, so he does an unnecessary test which is not medical best practice and which is also incredibly costly. Similarly, a kid with a small bump the the head is better off without a CT scan, which has a pretty high level of associated radiation exposure that might be better to avoid.

With a single payer system, doctors and nurses are still accountable – but according to reason and the patient’s best interests. Not profit or fear of a lawsuit. Tests and medications are given to people who actually need them. People are given a lot more preventative care because the system has a vested interest in reducing the likely lifetime medical burden of each individual on society as a whole. The minute that medical decisions start to be made based on cost / fear of litigation or how much money a person has is the minute it all starts going wrong. the business of medicine should never be based on profits. Lives are not for sale.

In terms of the costs versus results, the facts speak for themselves. The US spends more per capita on healthcare than almost any country in the world, several times what the UK spends. They take a lot more prescription medications per capita. They take a lot more imaging scans per capita. They spend a lot higher a proportion of taxpayer funds to provide healthcare to a much smaller proportion of citizens. The cost of surgery and all treatments is much higher – sometimes 10 times higher than the most sophisticated European countries. The cost of medicine is significantly higher. And yet with all that extra money being spent on the same illnesses, the US still has a higher rate of chronic diseases due to the lack of preventative care. It still has one of the lowest life expectancy rates. It still has the highest obesity rate in the world. It still has an infant mortality rate of almost double most of Europe. And with all that extra money and extra litigation across the board almost uniformly, the US has almost identical mortality rates for all the major diseases -cancer, heart disease and one of the highest rates of diabetes (again, probably down to obesity and complete lack of preventative care for the poorest people).

It’s absolutely indisputable fact that countries with a single payer system, or with any other system at all, have the same results or better for WAAAAAAAAY less money, and that all citizens, regardless of income, status or ability to pay are afforded the same rights to healthcare and rights to life.

There is an illusion that somehow the smaller queues or prettier bedrooms somehow make things better for people, and sure, sometimes you might have to wait in a single payer system to have minor surgery or you might be turned away for unnecessary tests but you have the freedom to use a private hospital with a fancy room or a private insurance company if you wish to.

Private health insurance in the UK costs a tiny fraction of what it does in the US. Why? Because the care provided through the single payer system – despite it’s failings – is actually world class in terms of results. People feel safe knowing that the people taking care of them are not interested in making money, but in taking care of their patients. And if anything, most UK citizens want to see their doctors and nurses paid more for the incredible work that they do.

Veronica

Great comment. I would also add that, too often, insurance in the US dictates to doctors what they can and cannot do or what medication they can prescribe. My brother recently was told that his medication was too costly and his doctor must use one from the approved list. He has rheumatoid arthritis and the change in meds has had a negative impact on his day to day activity, along with increased pain. This in a person with severe mobility problems already.

vooluntia

Britanica

I’m sorry but a lot of Bernie’s ideas are a mess. Though he has good intentions, most of them will end up leaving so many people without jobs, homes, and food. The whole thing about raising minimum wage and free college was the second I hopped off his wagon. Who does he expect to pay for this stuff? You know who would… Me and all the other workers in America. We would be taxed out the butt and the cost of living would greatly increase.

Really?

Last I checked, Germany has fully paid post-secondary education for all of its citizens and they’re doing just fine economically. Socialism gets pulled in with Communism way too often in Murica. Guess what, it works. Every other G8 country has universal healthcare for its people. He’s a thought, you don’t wanna pay for it right? How about pulling a few billion from the massive defense budget and putting it back towards the American population?

Jim

The way I understand the German system (and several others in Europe) is that only those who qualify for it have free education. If you don’t receive the grades/test scores to be considered for university you are sent in a more vocational setting. I don’t see any such limitation in this plan. Working in education has made me much more cynical about the students who go to college but then fail. Almost a third will have no chance to get through college because they did not have the aptitude or attitude for it. I would consider funding a C student who scores below average on college exams to be a colossal waste of taxpayer money.

Jamie

There were a lot of good things about Bernie’s plan but as others have said there are a lot of holes to be poked. Coverage for all with no or low premiums and no private companies sounds like a dream but the logistics of all that are slightly more than complicated. As far as today’s issues, “TrumpCare” doesn’t seem loans different than Obamacare despite him talking down on it at every chance he gets. And from what I’ve seen, Trump’s plan may not permit insurance companies from cherry picking who they cover, which was one of the biggest complaints of the middle to lower class pre-Obamacare. I don’t know what the best solution is, but thus far I haven’t been convinced on any of the proposed ideas yet.

Mark Murphy

I would love to see all the research that goes into the technology of building a bigger war machine. The comment above that stated their would be less incentive for those in the research and development area’s of medicine, I assumed for new technologies like immunotherapy finding cures building more effective prevention and surgical tools like the Devinci robot or less invasive types. Then it hit me. The military is socialized war welfare. Military contractors, I view in the same light as health insurance companies. They promise better products or coverages, yet they also set prices. If we don’t pay their price, maybe the Russians or Chinese will, so they either threaten to pull their business to more lucrative markets leveraging their extortion, or pull their business, this is exactly why the ACA is having issues. The ACA had nice little extras put in it to let the states set up their own insurance exchanges. Put simply, the politicians decided which insurance companies got a slice of the pie for the business. In some states, the politicians gave all the business to one or 2 maybe, insurance providers. Then, those insurance companies fained they were losing money to demand a raise from the states or they pull their business. My insurance companies whatever auto,life,health,home owners or renters…premiums go up every year. I haven’t filed a claim on any of them. My costs keep rising every year.. That’s the insurance game. Without the ACA and before it Health care insurance rose an average of 22% per year…..OMG! Right? The republicans said the ACA went up 22% last year…some politicians embellished the percentage at 23%. OMG! My point is the F35 took ten years to perfect we payed close to a trillion dollars on the development of that one plane. A trillion dollars would fund Single payer quite nicely add in the public option. Game on!

Julianne

Having worked for an HMO for a little over a year, I can say that insurance companies add ZERO value to the healthcare system. Instead they make buckets of money for nothing. They second guess doctors and deny care, even when medically necessary. They discuss policy decisions in terms of how many lives they will cost. It was kind of horrifying. Even as an employee, I was denied care my dr and I thought was necessary. When denying a request for bunion surgery, they sent me a letter telling me to “wear comfortable shoes.” Gee thanks.

With a single payer system, as I experienced while living in France, money goes towards care, period. Not insurance companies. France is rated as having the best health care system in the world. I found it extremely efficient and paperwork was so simple. I had doctors treat me from beginning to end too — during post-op visits the surgeon himself checked my progress and changed dressings. AT NO CHARGE. The French government does not make healthcare decisions, the doctors do. I’d guess single payer would even cost less if you took out the insurance company layer.

It’s shameful that politicians in the United States don’t see value in ensuring quality healthcare for all. I’m an independent voter, but feel strongly about fixing this issue. Trump needs to be held accountable for his promise to “replace Obamacare with something much much better, so much better.” What a load! Of course he had no intention of doing anything other than lining the pockets of his rich buddies who now fill his cabinet. Republicans in Congress are complicit.

Oh, the French also attend university at no charge. Yes your test scores and grades will impact where you can go (as they do in the US), but as another comment said, it makes sense to use some criterion to evaluate whether a student is likely to be successful in a given program. There are some private colleges too though.

(If the French elect Marine Le Pen, forget everything I just said.)

wayne

Have several friends and one business associate in Germany, one in Poland as well. Yes, you are correct about their medical coverage and their free college, but i see it first hand how much they have to pay once they are working. The taxes are absolutely mind numbing. And the waits for their doctors, etc are not even remotely acceptable. They get to point they dont even go to doctor as by the time they can get to it, they are over their illness. There are so many ways to do it, but until both sides agree to work together we are always going to be screwed.

CS

Wayne … have been to Europe many times, and continually hear from locals how they do not like their health care system. Yes, it’s ‘Free’… but really, they pay 70-80% in taxes to pay for their many ‘Free’ programs. One gentleman told us how they not only get taxed on their income, they are taxed on savings (every year it sits in the bank). He mentioned how their care from doctors was “okay”, but never great. Their is no competition, therefore no incentive to be better than the next guy.

Greg

Combine what the working class of Americans pay in taxes, across the board, add the cost of health insurance, which in many cases is more than a home mortgage and then add in the cost of education, do you think we aren’t being “taxed” as much, or even more than these other countries??? People need to learn to work TOGETHER to make our quality of life better.

just_plain_name

caroline

You are being unfair.
Republicans, Democrats, Independents are all at fault to some degree. No system is going to be totally perfect. There are pros and cons. The biggest issue with single payer is government. The government is the problem. Inflation “rising costs” is the government stealing from the people to pay for all their plans and ideas to help the people. My take home pay is approximately 50% of what I make. 50% goes to the government.
Free college, free health care, free homes, free cars. Somebody has to pay for all that. It’s called taxes and inflation. Therefore, today with all the debt that countries are carrying, there is nothing left to save. You work to eat and have a place to sleep for the night.

This is not the way. I don’t want free things. I want to work and be a productive member of society. I want to be able to help others get on their feet and have a great life. Not suffer at the hands of very stupid people.

Paul

Caroline says that about 50% of her take home pay goes to the government. This and other exaggerated statements like it are a huge part of the problem in America. The average federal tax rate was at that time about 14% (lower now), with many lower income people paying nothing. State and local taxes vary, but even in high taxed California, the rate is about 13%. Social Security and Medicare may add another 7 or 8%. Obviously this number varies, but even before the recent large tax cut, I don’t believe that anyone was paying close to 50% of their income in taxes, especially, generally lower earners like nurses. Maybe I’m wrong, and if somebody can give me examples of people paying that much in taxes, I would concede that I’m wrong. Less exaggeration and more concessions are what this country really needs.

caroline

They got to you too. You sound like a communist. You don’t know what freedom there is to think for yourself and not as the government tells you to think. Of course it’s all good to you, because you don’t know different. Do you have the right to bear arms? I didn’t think so. You have to rely on the government to protect you for the common good of all. Do you really believe that? FYI: It is not common for job prospects to ask you for your grades. Grades don’t indicate your ability to do a job. But, grades may help you lie to yourself, that your better than someone else.
Good for you that you like all the free stuff. I hope that works out for you.

caroline

The Republicans are right, but they are not explaining the magnitude of government run healthcare. The Democrats were told to vote for ACA and then read it. So many of the Dems did not know the design was meant to fail.

Single payer sounds good, but someone has to pay. Whether it be premiums or taxes. Someone has to pay. Everybody gets the same is like one size fits all. Not True! We don’t need the government to pay us what they stole from us and cover it up with a bonus that already belongs to us. “Wake Up!” I agree that entitlement program reform is a great place to start.

I am a nurse. I like being able to find a better paying job, better working conditions, better benefits etc.
1. Single Payer destroys healthcare workers right to choose who they work for.
2. Doctor of choice makes no difference because they all get same rate. Why would a physician rise above the set standard and do more? There is no incentive when the government ultimately makes the decisions.
3. The government will set the standards of who lives and who dies. Whose life is worth saving? The 80 year old or the 20 year old?
That is what is meant by Socialism/Communism.
4. Why do people think the government is there to take care of them? The government can’t pay their bills now. What “pink cloud” are you people floating on?
5. I would rather have no health insurance than government health insurance. I know that I would be in control of my life.
6. DHS, Social Security, Disability take months to years to file claims. Your better off going out and getting a job to pay for your medicine or doctors visit.

Currently, Medicaid and medicare have set limits on what they pay out, regardless of patient needs. The health care institutions take the loss of what the government insurance won’t pay. I see this everyday in the hospital setting. We can’t discharge patients that there is no where for them to go. The hospital or other eats the cost until they can find a transfer facility or the patient dies.

Single Payer would cause health institutions to be stuck with some patients they can’t discharge because of the complexity of their medical needs. Ex. Ventilator dependent patients, Tracheotomy patients, morbidly obese patients and complex wound care.
What the government gives you, the government can take away.

Greg

Re:#5 and #6 – I am a hard working middle class American worker, I make a good livable wage with great health insurance, thanks to my employer which happens to be our Government. It hasn’t always been that way. I was younger, making a good living but had no health insurance because my employer couldn’t afford it due to its high costs and regulations. I became very ill, now I couldn’t get insurance because it was a pre-existing condition. Now I was paying out of pocket, and oh yes, I was “in control” of my situation instead of the government, but I couldn’t pay my bills, I had NOTHING, but I was still working full-time doing my best. The sad thing is, I had to give up my career, my passion, and get a job that offered great health coverage. I work with the public daily and I see people daily that don’t work, have great healthcare, making tax-free money selling drugs, right in front of cops, daily. Cops are doing nothing. I see criminals having more rights than honest, good, hard working citizens. We live in a society where Lawyers protect the guilty. My point to all of this is, ALL SYSTEMS HAVE PROS AND CONS, BUT America, BEING THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, needs to have a little less focus on greed and more focus on people, and with this countries great, educated people we should have a way better system in place, but again, the almighty dollar takes the prize. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I like money too, but I also like a quality life. Money doesn’t buy happiness, it can help, but happiness comes from within. We need to find balance. Why can’t our leaders, no matter what the party, work TOGETHER and create a better America?

caroline

For all those positive stories on Single Payer systems, talk to someone who needs brain surgery or chemotherapy and radiation treatments. How about open heart surgery? Then tell me how great your health care is.

Will dick'em

Romero

As someone who works in a military hospital, which by definition is single payer since everyone’s health coverage is paid by TriCare, there are definitely pros and cons to Bernie’s plan for socialized medicine. Will it reduce costs? Yes, it really would. Administrative costs get cut and because it’s non-profit, no bonuses are given to executives and staff. Everyone will be covered, so no one gets left behind. Essentially, I’d be paying for someone’s ER visit because I know one day, if I need a knee replacement done, someone will pay for me. The cons? No incentive for doctors to do better than the other. They say the care will still be left in the doctor’s hands? Well who’s paying the doctors? There is only one employer: the government. The surgeons in my clinic all get paid the same, regardless if they do surgery or not. Because of the lack of profit incentive and with all the bureaucracy we deal with, patients have much longer waiting times. Patients I see who need an MRI have to wait at least 2 weeks to get one whereas they could get one same-day off base. Scheduling surgeries is a wait as well, taking weeks if not months. You literally have to know the system to beat it. In the end, the options are cheaper, more affordable healthcare or paying for better quality.

Paul

Romero you are actually wrong about cost in the military hospitals where I have worked for 25 years both active and civilian. The cost to the DoD has skyrocketed from the late 80’s to our current status because of the changes in management. When i first came in there were very few civilian positions and very little overhead, since eliminating CHAMPUS and incorporating Tricare, costs have balloned upward. Look t the cost percent differences for medical care in the 50-80’s and the.n watch the difference from the 90’s to now. If people want to lower health costs then get the government out of it. Make insurance available for catastrophic care and keep fee for service in primary care. Currently If you walk into a cash clinic they charge 40-60% less for cash vs. insurance. It’s actually pretty cheap to pay as you go. Another version accepted practice are co-ops which are also very affordable. We do not need these know it all bureaucrats coming out of these propaganda schools making decisions on what they’ll pay for and what we have to do to get what we want. Tyranny has always started out with good intentions.

Paul

Another big pro to universal health care that is often missed is that the American system really suppresses worker flexibility. People who would rather work part time, shorter term jobs, such as contractors, parents of young children, older people, etc. are often forced into working what amounts to be 50 hours a week, with limited time off, primarily for the health care.

Mrs Moreno

Wait, so you pretty much just nailed it…. EVERYONE ELSE should pay for someone that just doesn’t WANT to work harder, work smarter, chase their ARTISTIC dream or FAIRLY CONTRIBUTE.

Yeah, until the day EVERY Conservative in the country dies…. there will never be universal or single payor healthcare. HealthCARE is already a RIGHT, health INSURANCE IS NOT and turning it INTO one, with the doctor shortages we already HAVE… guarantees a system wide failure.

There are special NEEDS children that go without their medical needs, parents frequently filing appeal after appeal to get the most BASIC of needs met. Throw in a couple million healthy kids that get mommy home because the TAXPAYER subsidizes their housing, pays for their food and pays for their medical care and those special needs kids move further to the back of the line. Like in the UK, where the GOVERNMENT decides if YOUR child’s life is WORTH saving. GREAT PLAN.

You won’t HAVE to worry about the MIDDLE CLASS paying for it because they will quit their full time jobs en MASSE. Why bother when 30% of your hard earned dollars supports your lazy neighbor.

david

I am for a single payor system that provides everyone baseline care, so long as I can also buy add-ons on the private market. I suspect this would not be an issue.

But, there are some unintended consequences.

I am going to assume the states administer the system. Like, in Canada. This means, when you leave or enter a state, you must register with the state; likely within a set period of time with default coverage for that period – like, in Switzerland. Let that sink in: register your movements with the state. This kind of goes against the grain of America. The authorities always know where you are through your registration. Change states, counties, cities, change your registration.

On immigration. There may be a benefit. If your not a legal resident, registered with the state, you will not get health insurance. At all. Or, will the states permit this? Will they have discretion? I suspect not. So, illegal immigration will be stymied, and the government will need to find a way to issue visa’s for crop pickers and geeks.

What of the Federal government administered it? Who is eligible? All taxpayers? Even the millions overseas? All residents? Even the ones who spend more time in Rosarito then San Diego?

The unintended consequences will go on and on.

Christina

Kevin

First you must read Bernie’s plan and you will discover that Medicare for all expires 4 years after it’s enacted. It also says that you cannot have any other medical coverage despite the fact that the UK allows their citizens to opt for additional coverage provided outside the Government medical plan. Bernie’s plan does not. Ask yourself this one last question: What does the Government operate that doesn’t cost more than originally projected? How efficient is it run and do the costs go down? Stop chuckling. All Government run departments, agencies, and bureaus are extremely costly to run and prices never go down. Do you want the Gov’t deciding if you should get the health care and meds you need to get better or healed of a disease? Nope, not me either. Medicare for all is a joke and a giant lie, just like Obamacare was as promised. Have those costs gone down? NO!